Once his competition, GOP candidates endorse Mike Ezell for Congress in Palazzo face-off
Republican candidates stood together at the Great Southern Club Thursday, and one by one they threw their endorsement to Mize Ezell in U.S. Congressional race for the 4th District of Mississippi.
“All candidates in the Republican primary have endorsed my candidacy,” said Ezell, the Jackson County Sheriff who finished second in the primary and now faces incumbent Steven Palazzo in the runoff election June 28.
Ezell said he spoke to the other two candidates by phone Thursday, since they couldn’t make the meeting, and they also gave their endorsement.
“I got into the race with one thing in mind, and that was to get Palazzo out of office,” said Carl Boyanton, who also ran against Palazzo in 2020. He said after the meeting he just formed the Conservative Candidate Caucus and will be working to get conservative candidates like Ezell elected.
The focus now is to get people back to the polls for the runoff, “or we can’t win this,” Boyanton said.
Despite a dismal voter turnout in the primary, “Our base is motivated,” Ezell said. “I think they’re going to turn out.”
Clay Wagner, who finished a close third in the election, wore shorts to the meeting now that he’s again retired.
“I have never run for anything in my life,” he said. Even he was a bit surprised by the 11,000 voters who supported him.
“We thought we were in the race from the get-go,” he said, or he wouldn’t have entered the contest, Wagner said. “We deserve better than what we have,” he said.
Palazzo had 32% of the vote Tuesday, and 68% of the vote went to Ezell and the other five candidates who now endorse him.
“Sixty-eight perecent of the people have rejected the incumbent,” State Sen. Brice Wiggins said. That’s a mandate for change.”
Pete Wilson stood in for candidate Raymond Brooks, who had to return to work as a Gulfport police officer, and Kidron Peterson also told Ezell by phone that he is endorsing his candidacy.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 1:07 PM.
